Backing 'banned books' Readers fight censorship in Exeter

Tuesday

Oct 2, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

EXETER — It's been four decades since Liz Whaley fought her personal battle against censorship, but the retired English teacher and bookseller reminded an audience Monday that intellectual freedom faces challenges still today.

Whaley was among those who gathered at Water Street Bookstore in Exeter Monday evening to celebrate the legacy of "banned books" — publications that have been pulled from the shelves of schools and libraries because of their content. The event was held in partnership with the New Hampshire chapter of American Civil Liberties Union.

Several dozen people filled the aisle of the bookstore for Monday night's event, which coincided with the 30th "Banned Books Week."

Sponsored by The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, the weeklong celebration champions free speech and access to information. The concept was formulated in 1982 by First Amendment activist Judith Krug, who sought to "raise awareness of banned and challenged books, and share the stories of persecuted individuals," according to information provided by the bookstore.

The celebration is observed worldwide at the end of September, and falls this year between Sept. 24 and Oct. 6.

Some of the sponsors of the international observance include the Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Association of American Publishers, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the Freedom to Read Foundation and the National Council of Teachers of English.

For Whaley, it was during her time teaching at Coe-Brown Northwood Academy when she experienced her brush with censorship. While teaching a course on African-American literature to juniors and seniors at the school, Whaley said, she was called into the headmaster's office to defend the material used in her class.

The contested book was "Manchild in the Promised Land," a 1965 novel by author Claude Brown that describes his hardscrabble upbringing in New York and the racial conflict he experienced in the north. Whaley said a mother was livid after discovering her two sons were reading the book at Coe-Brown.

Whaley said her defense of the book fell on deaf ears when she was questioned by the former chairman of the school's board of trustees. Whaley was forced to drop the book from her lessons, and all copies were removed the school, save for one that was allowed to remain in the library.

"That's 40 years ago," Whaley said, "but it could still happen."

In 2011, the American Library Association (ALA) was notified of 326 instances in which someone attempted to remove or restrict materials from a library or school. The year before that, it was the children's book "And Tango Makes Three" by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell that received the most attempts at censorship in schools and libraries nationwide, according to the ALA.

Based on a true story, the book describes the relationship between two male penguins raised at New York City's Central Park Zoo, who were given a baby penguin to raise together by zookeepers. The book, which deals with themes of homosexuality and adoption among gay couples, has appeared on ALA's annual list of top 10 most challenged books repeatedly since it was published in 2005.

David Weber, a Phillips Exeter Academy English teacher, read passages from the story Monday while another participant held up a copy of the picture book for audience members.

Also among the presenters at Monday's event were Frank Heffron, a retired lawyer and political activist who read a passage from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," and Exeter Public Library Director Hope Godino, who read from the Pulitzer Prize winning story "To Kill a Mocking Bird" by author Harper Lee.

The book, which was published in 1960, remains one of the 10 most frequently challenged books in the country today, according to the ALA.